


A Cake for Chopper

by Starlight_Adventurer



Category: One Piece
Genre: Chopper gets a cake, Sanji and Zoro get to spend meaningful time together, just a fun little oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:07:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25787065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starlight_Adventurer/pseuds/Starlight_Adventurer
Summary: Chopper can't wait to eat his little cupcake.Sanji and Zoro's bickering ends in said cake being thrown into the ocean.Robin decides to help fix the situation.
Kudos: 25





	A Cake for Chopper

**Author's Note:**

> This is a oneshot written for my application to the One Piece School Zine.  
> It's just a little bit of fun.

It happened during a pretty routine docking for the Thousand Sunny.

Most of the crew had spent the day in the island's port town, with shopping, relaxing, not causing a problem for the local populace, all being the name of the game. 

However, by a pick of straws, Sanji and Zoro had been the ones to stay behind. Sure, the Sunny would be protected from invasion, not that many people would actually be stupid enough to even try, but there was also the risk of it not being in one piece when they all returned in the evening. Franky had almost begged to swap with one of them, an idea which quickly got shot down when Usopp reminded him of a promise to buy specialty supplies together.

Robin and Chopper had made a similar agreement and had spent the day meandering between books shops and whatever else caught their eye. The freedom and good company was more than enough reason to let their hair down and treat themselves to something from the town bakery.

“Hey Robin, what did you say this cake was called again?” Chopper asked as they made their way back to the Sunny through the town’s bustling main street. He held his pastry reverently between his hooves while he avoided any contact that might jeopardise the condition of cake. It was a vanilla cupcake iced in pastel pink buttercream with a distinctive set of cut out segments set into the creamy mixture.

“It’s a Butterfly Cake,” she answered with a smile. Her own pastry, a Petit Choux, was packed in a little pink box held in her hand.

“Is it because of the cut out bit on top?” His question was accompanied by holding it higher for her to see.

“I’m not an expert, but I’d say so,” Robin chuckled at the sparkles in his eyes. He brought the cake back to his eye level. “Maybe you could ask our cook.”

“You think Sanji knows how to make them too?” Chopper asked hopefully. When she nodded he made an excited sound and began to walk with more purpose.

They made it back to the ship in good time. The sound that greeted them, however, was anything but good.

“Just stay on your side of the ship! I’m just trying to nap and forget that I’m stuck with your stupid face,” Zoro’s voice yelled from near the Sunny’s bow.

“Like I care! And that’s really rich coming from a gorilla,” Sanji shouted in response from the astern.

“What the fuck did you just call me!?”

“You heard me!”

There was a rush of air as Robin and Chopper stepped onto the deck at the same time as the two men finally made their argument physical. It was the foreshadowing for similar gusts as the pair clashed in a flurry of kicks and sword swipes. Hits of blades against legs that shook the very air around them, a sight to see if their audience wasn’t already tired of seeing it.

Said audience stood off to the side, leaning against the railing, for a little while. They initially planned on waiting for the men to run out of steam before going about their post-shopping business, but as time dragged on Chopper became concerned about the condition of the cake in his hand. It needed to be kept safe until after dinner. Robin noticed this worry, his tendency to wear his heart on his sleeve (fur? arm?) being accomplice to this, and suggested they head to the kitchen.

Their trip, however, was interrupted by a stray surge. Robin didn’t appear fazed by it, holding down the hem of her dress, while Chopper flinched. His eyes instinctively closed at the sudden contact, his whole body going rigid along with them. But, when he opened his them he realised the error in doing so.

His now empty hands greeted him. It was gone.

Chopper peeked through the ship’s railing to see his cake bopping sullenly in the waters below. It did this for a few moments before silently sinking below the waves, swallowed by the unforgiving depths of the ocean.

Oh.

\---

“Can’t believe I’m stuck with you again,” Zoro complained as he washed his hands in the kitchen sink.

“Oh yeah? It’s not like I want to share my kitchen with you either,” Sanji shot back while he pushed the swordsman aside with his hip to clean his hands as well. “Just make sure not to break anything using those gross hands of yours.”

“You trying to pick another fight, Blondie?” The familiar sound of swords unsheathing followed that aggravated statement.

“And what if I-” Sanji didn’t get to finish his retort when the galley door creaked open.

Robin leaned a little past the edge of the door, so her head and shoulder were clearly visible, to ask with a pleasant smile, “How is everything in here going? No problems, I hope.”

“Of course not, Robin-chan!” Sanji happily replied while Zoro grumbled behind him, arms crossed over his chest.

“That’s good,” she commented. The air in the was almost still as she cast a glance over the still empty kitchen counter before trailing the same critical gaze over both of the men. “Chopper in the Infirmary right now. He insists that he isn’t sulking but we all know that isn’t true. I’m sure you gentlemen wouldn’t mind putting a smile back on his face, especially by working together.”

“It would be our pleasure,” the cook assured by patting Zoro on the shoulder; an action which the other accepted without complaint given the situation.

Robin nodded. The same smile as before seeming a lot more intimidating as she left them alone once more. The galley door soundlessly swung closed, as if it too was fearful enough to not make a noise in the women’s presence, before they heard in a crystal clear voice, “I can’t wait to see what you make.”

Sanji pulled his hand away from Zoro in a motion reminiscent of burning it on the stove. He glared at the other man before putting that focus on digging through the kitchen’s cupboards. Zoro took the time to return the glare but stood uselessly to the side when the cook began to pull utensils and ingredients from various places surrounding the counters. Not that Zoro would admit it, but it was kind of impressive how easily Sanji could remember where everything was kept.

“You can start by creaming together all of the wet ingredients,” Sanji instructed quietly while sliding over said ingredients and a metal bowl.

“Huh?” Zoro blurted out as he looked between the man and the stuff in front of him.

“Wait, you don’t know the measurements. Let me write them out for you,” Sanji said in the same soft tone as before. 

It was obvious to Zoro that he was being ignored, but the content and oblivious expression on the cook’s face gave him pause. 

The change in demeanour, while jarring, made sense given the situation. Sanji was in his element with someone he actively sought to pick, mostly petty, fights with. Zoro didn’t know how he would react to being forced to train with Sanji; training was the only time when he could totally focus on a singular thing and clear his mind. 

Cooking must have been the same for Sanji.

A piece of paper containing the recipe measurements was wordlessly slid in front of him. Zoro didn’t think twice about picking it up. Better to get this over with than spend time pondering useless thoughts after all.

In his self reflection, Zoro missed the confused side glance Sanji cast his way.  
\---

No red food colouring. No red or pink coloured fruit either.

Damn.

Sanji sighed as he closed the fridge.

He turned towards the set of dozen vanilla cupcakes cooling on the counter. The wisps of post-baking steam had long since dissipated but the underside of the cases was still tacky from lingering heat.

Speaking of things lingering, Sanji cast a look over his shoulder towards the dining table. Zoro sat with his back leaning on the edge of the table; how his spine wasn’t eternally bent out of shape from his terrible hunched over sleeping posture is something Sanji will never know. 

His impromptu nap had been in response to Sanji informing him of the fact that filling cupcake cases was a one man job. They had fallen into a surprisingly easy silence during the moments that had followed and Zoro had apparently been unable to keep his eyes open. The big baby.

In terms of childishness, Sanji could admit to himself that their arguments did lead to him doing things he wasn’t necessarily proud of. That day had definitely been one of them.

No. Their fight was on that very lost, exhaustive list, but the baking afterwards wasn’t. Sanji didn’t know what had gotten into the other man; Zoro’s quiet, borderline mellow, attitude throughout their forced teamup had been pleasant. It was too bad that Zoro would inevitably start something the next time he opened his disgusting mouth.

Sanji chuckled to himself. Then something caught his eye. 

The still open cupboard in front of him had a shelf dedicated to pastry decorating. It was a section of the kitchen that went unused a lot of the time, given the variety of desserts Sanji cycled through to keep the crew’s palettes from getting bored. It did, however, have a large amount of green coloured cake ornaments - due to Sanji’s dislike of the colour not being factored into the shopping when they were bought.

Sanji pulled out a bottle of green food colouring. Then he opened the fridge to retrieve a lime to match, shutting both with a nudge of his hip, while grinning so hard his face was starting to hurt.

\---

Dinner that evening had been wonderful.

It was as noisy an affair as ever; food had been thrown in every direction possible, but mostly by Luffy into his own mouth.

“And for dessert…” Sanji began to announce once the dirty tableware had been moved from the dining table to the sink for cleaning. He pulled a large plate from behind his back with a flourish, “... Butterfly Cakes.”

Chopper’s eyes lit up at the sight of the pastries. The plate was placed in front of him, a sign that he got first dibs despite Luffy’s whining, and he excitedly took one. The smile that followed his initial bite was worth it for both of the crewmen that had prepared the cakes. It was also enough to placate the terrifying aura that had been emanating from Robin since the incident that afternoon.

Luffy’s voice cut through the chatter that accompanied the eating of their dessert, “Hey, doesn’t the icing kind of remind you of Zoro?”

Usopp blinked down at the cake in his hand before answering in a chuckle, “You’re right.”

“It’s sour like him too,” Nami added through her first bite.

Zoro, for his part in the conversation, just sat and thoughtfully ate the cupcake. The barely visible smile that passed over his face was missed by most of the crew during the ensuing argument over who would be getting one of the leftover cakes. A similar thing could be said about the eerily similar smile that Sanji wore when he turned away from them to begin cleaning the dishes.

It was a good thing that Robin prided herself in noticing such things.

And Chopper was just happy that they had gotten along long enough to make him cake.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys have enjoyed this! Please tell me what you think!  
> Wish me luck with the zine application process.


End file.
